Conversation with a conductor

(of the train kind, not the musical kind)

So, I'm en route from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe via train and bus. This was not the plan - but neither was getting stuck at Dulles all day yesterday. And it is very nice to be going up during the day when I can see the very pleasant countryside.

I got chatting to the train conductor as we left Oakland station. He asked me if I was going up to Tahoe to ski or to gamble.

Me: "I didn't know gambling was even a thing up there."
Conductor: "You know Tahoe is in Nevada, right?"
Me: "Oh yeah, I get it. But I don't think I'll be gambling."
Conductor: "Oh I bet your friends will want to gamble. Anyway, you don't need to go looking for it. It will find you. You can hardly go to the bathroom without pulling a slot machine."
Me: "I'll look out for it jumping out around corners at me, then."

Anyway, he told me there is plenty of snow on the slopes so the skiing should be good. I asked whether the rain today would make it icy.

Conductor: "Well, you know what happens when you get rain on top of snow."
Me: "Not really. I mean, I can guess, but I don't know from experience."
Conductor: "From your accent, I'd guess Australia?"
Me: "That's right."
Conductors: "Well I can see why you wouldn't have experience with snow."

He still didn't tell me. So my practical understanding will just have to wait another couple of hours.

The day of the gifts

I just noticed I never did post anything about my trip to Myanmar.

Well, I'd better fix that!

While in Myanmar, I spent two days in the ruby mining area, Mogok.

The full day in the region was full in several senses of the word.

During the morning, I went for a walk through the countryside and a few villages with a local guide. As well as showing me the abandoned distillery that is now a chicken farm, a couple of eagles used for hunting and various natural beauty, my guide took me to chat to a few people who lived in the area.

They were all lovely and it was very interesting to talk with them - and they all me gifts: tea, roses, two eggs, a couple of songs (you will be amused to know I returned the favour by singing "Twinkle, Twinkle") and lunch.

I just had some Australian art cards and my sincere thanks (well, and "Twinkle, Twinkle"), but I did my best.

In the afternoon, my main guide took me to see some ruby mines. We were then joined for tea by a couple of local gem dealers.

They showed me some beautiful stones, including a wonderful sapphire and two star rubies (more on which below) and taught me some basic facts about gems.

The conversation about the star rubies went something like this:

GD: [handing me a stone] Here, have a look at this one.
Me: Wow, that's beautiful.
[I looked at it in detail, listened to explanation of its features]
Me: Out of curiosity, what would a stone like that be worth?
GD: [he already knew I was not in the market] It varies. Around $4,000.
Me: If only...
GD: Now look at this one [we exchanged stones]
Me: You know, I know this is smaller and it's probably worth less, but there's something about it - I like it more.
GD: [laughing uproariously] You're very smart!

He then explained it was actually worth significantly more.

We chatted further (and looked at more stones) and then my guide indicated it was time to leave.

The gem dealer then shook a couple of spinels he'd shown me earlier into his hand and wrapped them up. He gestured for me to hold out my hand and pressed the package into my palm. "From my country to you!"

I protested, he insisted.

I thanked him and gave him and his partner each one of my cards. "From my country to you," I said.

They actually seemed fairly satisfied with the exchange, once I'd also inscribed the cards at their request.

While the spinels have lasted the longest of all the gifts I received that day in terms of materiality, I'm not sure that the greatest generosity I met was not the gift of the eggs. And while I did not have another day quite so extreme in terms of actual gifts, many of the people I met in Myanmar exhibited similar generosity of spirit.

I still have misgivings about the ethics of visiting developing countries, but I'm very glad I went.

Obvious Lawyer

You will be pleased to know some things do not change.

On Saturday, my first full day in DC, I visited a gin distillery (New Columbia Distillery, makers of Green Hat Gin) with one of my friends here and a big group of his friends. We bottled an entire batch of gin. And had a tour of the distillery. So much fun!

Anyway, at one point I was waiting in line for the restroom. Others were there for tastings and tours, so there were some total strangers (as opposed to people I'd only just met). A couple of those total strangers were in the queue in front of me.

As the queue moved, I made a suggestion for a slight rearrangement.

And the woman at the front of the queue said: "Are you a lawyer?"

I hid my face in mock shame and asked if it was that obvious.

She said no, only another lawyer - such as herself - would have picked it.

We had enough time to exchange basic but important details, namely, what kind of law each of us did and where, before her friend came out. Woman #1 made each of us aware that we were all lawyers, and disappeared behind the locked door.

So then I had a similar exchange with Woman #2, and that in turn led to:

W#2: Oh, Australia! I've always wanted to go to New Zealand!
Me (jokingly): You know they're different countries right?
W#2: Yes - but have you been to New Zealand? And which would you recommend?
Me: It depends. Why do you want to go to New Zealand?
W#2: Wine, beaches, views?
Me: Hmm, what kind of wine do you like?
W#2: Spicy red wine...

Of course you know what I advised. (And I gave reasons, of course. I was, after all, speaking to another lawyer. Lawyers appreciate reasons for advice.)

And you probably also know what came next.

My turn in the queue came up as Woman #2 returned to her partner just through the other doorway, saying "Babe, we're going to Australia!" He looked a bit bemused. As she started to tell him about our exchange, I waved and called out "Hi! I'm B.!"

So we'll see. I may have some completely chance-met houseguests from DC some time in the future.